when to prune Oleanders

Asked September 25, 2014, 5:31 PM EDT

I live in Grandy (Currituck Co) & have read that I'm supposed to prune my Oleanders between now & October. Other sites say Feb-March when the plant is dormant. Would you please advise me the correct time frame? Thank you!

1 Response

Since oleanders bloom in summer on new growth, prune them in the early spring (after the chance of frost has past). Oleanders will tolerate quite hard spring pruning to remove cold damaged or overgrown wood. Remove dead flower clusters to encourage longer bloom. Cut stem tips off to encourage branching after the flowers are spent during the summer, but avoid cutting too late in the fall, as the new growth may not have enough time to harden before frost.